When Rivals Meet
by lalalala8761
Summary: modern au - this is a fluffy, light hearted high school story that revolves around the divergent characters. they battle through their differences and eventually become good friends! i hope you decide to check this story out - it would mean the world to me :) happy reading xx *disclaimer: i do not own divergent, all characters belong to veronica roth
1. Chapter 1 - An Introduction

**author's note: hi! welcome to the rival world of four and tris. i hope you guys enjoy this story. it's my first time writing any sort of fanfiction, so i hope i did veronica roth's amazing divergent characters some justice :) i don't actually go to school in the US, so if i get any aspects of their school life wrong, please correct me. once again, i hope you guys like this! happy reading xx**

Chapter 1 – An introduction

Before my life became the perfect case for a police investigation, I was made to believe that humans had kindness naturally ingrained in them. I believed that it was the language deaf people could hear, and the blind could see. But now, this phrase is nothing more than just a string of words to me. I had believed it before, and I had tried to be kind, only to receive abuse and emotional turmoil. It was over for me. Kindness had vanished from my being.

Fear is an obstacle in your journey. It cannot be avoided, not matter how much you tell yourself that it's going to be alright. It appears at times where you need courage the most. It is a hindrance to being dauntless, yet it holds power in its ability to remind you when the limit has been reached. It alerts you when you are in danger; it nags at you when you have gone too far. It is a complicated thing.

Honesty is something that I lack. It's a creature that I want to associate with, but just can't bring myself to, even when I want to. I have never come to understand it, not when all my life I have been fed lies about how worthless of a human I am. He used honesty in the games he liked to play, a game where he always had the upper hand. A game that players were able to cheat in. His cheating strategies were the lies and abuse. I lost the game every time. Honesty always dulled my world, fading it to a never-ending black and white.

Being selfless is a state of mind, a state of mind where you put someone else's needs above yours. I was constantly surrounded by it, but I never knew what it as. He always told me it was for my own good, making it seem like he was being selfless. But he was selfless in a way that no one else ever understood, but all that radiated off of him, none of it became known to me.

They say that knowledge is power. It gradually became apparent that this was false, as knowledge becomes weakness when you don't know how to play the cards correctly. I was never taught how to use knowledge in a war of strength. Knowledge is only something people turn to to prove something or support them. But to others, ignorance is bliss.

As a part of life, what's given to us naturally is choice. Freedom to choose means that sometimes, choices cannot be reverted. Those choices you wish you reverted are usually the ones that were made the most hastily. The choices that harm you and others the most. Those choices encompass the selflessness of giving up another choice, but the selfishness of choosing one choice over the other.


	2. Chapter 2 - Nearly the End

**author's note: hey again! glad you sticked around to read the second chapter. this one opens up the setting a bit more into four's high school life but the story is just warming up :) this chapter is 1.2k words, significantly longer tha the previous one! please leave a review if you enjoyed it, and favourite/follow if you wish to read more! i will try and update as much as possible, especially within the next week or so, but i most likely won't be able to update continuously after that :( i hope you liked this chapter and i'm already working on the third! happy reading xx**

Chapter 2 – Nearly the End

FOUR POV

Sometimes it's hard to imagine that I'm a seventeen year old, still in high school. The life I've been living for the past 17 and a half years is one that when told, people send a look of pity towards you, offer to help then finish the conversation off with a simple "I'm sorry to hear that".

Monday mornings are something that the majority population of living sixteen year olds would agree is the bane of their existence. It means waking up early after two days of utter bliss, and it means coming face to face with teachers and piles of homework. But to me, it is my own personal Marcus-free haven.

I mindlessly get ready, eager to leave this place I was taught to, but refuse to call home. I dabbed a bit of gel into my tousled hair, pushing the hairs that once curled over my forehead backwards. My closet bore the must mundane yet intriguing colours – pure darkness. Opening it up was like opening up a door to the night sky. Black, black and more black. Black on black. An endless sea of black. To many, this sea of darkness would create worry and concern, but it soothes me. To me, it represents mystery, someone everyone has deduced that I am. I pull on a pair of black jeans, a black t-shirt and carry my flannel jacket with me. Clambering downstairs with my bag half open and belongings threatening to fall out, I release a sigh of relief to the fact that the driveway contained only my car, a sleek, black Porsche. I quickly take out some of leftovers from last night's dinner that I had made, heat it up and consume it as quickly as possible.

Pulling up to school, I note the happy buzz and excitement that wafts through the air. The first day of the last week of school before summer vacation. Everyone was looking forward to the endless parties and trips with their friends. The crowd of footballers near the parking lot greet me with a stereotypical man hug – a slap on the back, pat on the shoulder and a grunt that acknowledges your existence. My school is nothing special, just your completely typical, run-of-the-mill high school from Hollywood movies. Teachers are pains the ass, cafeteria ladies are ill tempered and the janitors hide in the shadows of the walls. Most people have a group that they stick to, because it's where everyone belongs.

First are the jocks and athletes. The soccer, basketball and football players. Where I belong. We're normally considered douche-bags, with average grades and strict but rich parents. We're known as "players", no pun intended, thanks to Cameron of the football team who has so far dated 36 girls since the beginning of last year. I'm on the football team. Of course, I'm the quarterback. There are also our counterparts, the cheerleaders, gymnasts and swimmers. The ones who have insane bodies and faces that could get them anything they wanted if they just batted their eyelashes and smiled flirtatiously. They're the ones that we jocks are meant to date, although, none of them appeal to me. They're all the same – bitchy if they want to be, but otherwise harmless and as sweet and clingy as the gum underneath you table.

Next are the nerds. They're the ones who built up the academic foundation of this school. The ones who are constantly in the library with their noses buried deep in books about the human body, books about advance calculus and books about the America's political history. Always thirsty for knowledge and hungry to consume any kind of information they stumble upon, the nerds are the ones who maintain our school's reputation. They often tutor us jocks and athletes, helping us maintain our grades to an acceptable standard. Because of this, they're not picked on, everyone respects their hard work and dedication to their studies, but they're definitely hated on by many.

Then there are the preps, the clique who are as obnoxious as their ridiculous outfits. They're the ones who have their mommies and daddies pay for all of their tuition, all of their luxury goods, all of the materials for them to run campaigns to be voted for student body president. They're the goody two shoes that always tell the truth, always throw people under the bus and get them in trouble, even their friends. They're the ones who always report to teachers if anyone ever skips class or doesn't hand in homework. They're the ones who you see bickering with others during breaks, always trying to voice their opinion in matters that don't concern them. The leaders of the debating club, the voice of our student body, the teachers' pets.

There are also the victims, the ones who walk around the school quietly, friendless with their heads down. They get picked on, shoved around yet they do nothing to stand up for themselves. They dress modestly, in baggy clothing, trying to stay hidden and out of the light. They try to blend in and not draw any attention towards themselves. Before transferring to Pacific Bell, I was one of them. They're the ones who are selfless enough to help others and volunteer to run charity workshops to gather donations for some children's hospital across town.

Lastly are the hippies. The ones who are always happy, always in swarms of people dressed in bright coloured clothing and constantly surrounded with a bubbly air of laughter. How detestable. They run petitions and make posters, particularly in regards to animal cruelty and environmental protection. They also work in the school's veggie patch, are part of our school's cleaning committee and our archenemy.

There are also people around the school who don't fit into any of these groups. They have no distinct personality to them; rather, they float around and are friends with everyone. I admire them. I wish I was like them rather than having to stick with one group.

My group isn't very big – just a small bunch of closely-knit friends who are always there for one another. There's me, my best mate Zeke, his girlfriend and my best female mate Shauna, Will, Lauren, Nita and Drew. We've all known each other for a couple years, and we've gotten really close throughout the past couple years of high school. The bell rings and there is a stampede as students move towards to the great doors of our hallways, heading off to homeroom. As I enter, I feel several pairs of eyes on me. But I just surge forward. This year, I won't date around anymore. It's time to focus on my goals of getting into NYU.


	3. Chapter 3 - Game Prep

**author's note: hey again! here's another chapter for you guys :) this one's about 1.1k so i hope you enjoy it. i'm still trying to wrap my head around the way the u.s high school system works so deepest apologies if get things wrong - please correct me if i do! don't forget to review to tell me what you liked/didn't like and follow/favourite if you want to see more :) happy reading xx **

**p.s. next chapter will be from tris's pov! hold on ;) **

Chapter 3 - Game Prep

FOUR POV

I smelt her before I saw her. Nita. It wasn't hard to miss her heavy perfume imported from France, as she likes to boast. She comes strutting in, with her tiny handbag, even tinier top, six-inch heels and six-inch skirt. Her apparent violation of the school dress code always goes unnoticed by the teachers, because her father is a huge contributor to the school's funds.

All it took was for her to stare down and flick her wrist at the girl in the seat next to give her seat up to Nita.

"Hey Four, Zeke!. Do you two have any plans for summer yet?" she questions, trying to make conversation before the teacher comes.

"Well… I was planning to spend summer at the cabin my parents own by the beach. You wanna join us?" Zeke informs her and grins proudly, bearing his row of pearly white teeth. I glare at him inconspicuously, but he's too caught up in Nita's little sweet girl act to realise.

"Oh… I don't know. Four, are you going?"

"Not sure." It was a simple answer with a deadly nonchalant tone, yet she did not seem to comprehend that it actually means 'I don't want to tell you even if I am going.'

"Well, let me know. I'll go if you go. It'll be boring without you there," she remarks as she tries to grab my hand, which I swiftly drop down to my bag to reach for my drink bottle. At the sight of this, one of the many rejections I have given her, she puffs her cheeks out a little and turns towards the front, thinking of something else to say just as Mrs Samuels enters the room.

There was a time when Nita was a girl who I had a huge crush on. She was indefinitely pretty, social and a very happy person to be around. She was the princess in middle school and I was her prince. We were "shipped", our initials were drawn in hearts on tables and we were always pushed together whenever we were around each other. I tried chased her for a bit, but I was always too shy to make a proper move. She on the other hand, gloriously accepted my feelings but continued to play and tease me until I eventually gave up. Now, suddenly, not that I'm no longer interested; she has turned the tables and has begun chasing me. To no avail.

By the time lunch comes around, I have suffered a gruelling 150 minutes total of maths, chemistry and languages. My head was caving in, blood pounding on every piece of my skull and I wasn't sure whether it was Nita's sickly strong perfume or the incessant droning of the teachers introducing the course outline. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to feel some sort of peace within my hammering head, but our cafeteria is constantly buzzing with noise during lunch times.

I drag the seat next to Zeke out, and internally, or maybe externally, groan when Nita places herself in the seat to the other side of me. Once the rest of the gang join, we start chatting about Wednesday's big game against Santana De' Mores High. Their school is our biggest rivalry – the only other school in our area that is good to compete against us in sport. Their school is extremely preppy and stuck up, and it resembles more of a university than a high school. Thus, every match against them, we travel the whole 25 minutes to play on their freshly mowed field that is surrounded with rows and rows of seats in the bleachers.

"Yo Will. Guess we'll be going up against your girlfriend's school. The school she transferred to after she got kicked out of Pacific Bell." Zeke prods. Although that is our rival school, many of us still have connections with students there. Uriah, Zeke's younger brother, Lynne, Shauna's younger sister and Will's girlfriend, Christina transferred there. The three of them were expelled for vandalism after they were caught pulling off a failed prank, so they transferred to the next closest school, Santana De'Mores High.

"Yo Zeke. Looks like we're going up against your brother's school. The school he went to after he got expelled from here", Will banters back. Zeke rolls his eyes and points to Shauna, winging that her sister goes to "that school" too. She slapped his finger away, muttering that it was rude to point while he simply grinned at her sheepishly and planted a kiss on her left cheek. Our conversation resumed, discussing the details of our big game and how we were going to play to win.

After lunch ended, I headed off for gym class – the best part of my day. This was the only class that all of our gang was in together, since the football and cheerleading team practice during lunch. We got changed in our locker rooms, giddy with excitement and waited for Coach Amar to address us.

"Alright team," he grins "you all know what's happening this Wednesday, aka in two days. And if you don't, leave. NOW." he barks. Amar is probably the most serious one out of everyone in the entire school, since he wants to prove to his boyfriend and coach of our rival team, George, that he is far more superior as a coach.

"Amar, we all know what's happening. The big game against SDH. Can we just get on with training already?" Drew comments. Amar purses his lips, all humour wiped off his face and sends a small nod in our direction. Everyone begins to set up equipment, some getting the football gear while others set up mats for the cheer team to practice on. We had to work together to make this happen.

While the football team started to warm up, the cheer team began to do some aerobic exercises and stretches in their tiny sports shorts and sports bras. If it weren't for their stuck up nature, I'd say that this is the best part of school. Once everyone was warm and ready, we began to train. This was our last training session before the big game. Everyone was working harder than ever in order to beat SDH this year. This year, we're taking the victory.


	4. Chapter 4 - First realisation

**author's note: hey! i was actually considering stopping this story before, but i checked in on fanfic this morning and i realised i had gotten 6 reviews from you lovely people :) i was so shocked but happy and i got to work already. i really hope you like this and there's another note at the bottom hehe :) happy reading xx**

**Chapter 4 – First realisation **

TRIS POV

I love to cheer. Cheering has become my life since the fateful day when the three from Pacific Bell stepped foot in my school. Christina, cheer captain of Pacific Bell's team, was practically in tears when she realised that SD didn't have a cheer team. Yet, of course. Her big fat crocodile tears and butterfly lashes easily convinced Coach George to open up a cheer team for our school. And since that day, my life has been indebted to her, as joining the team allowed me to get a taste of what it feels like to fly through the air, to feel music with my body and to finally find something that I enjoyed doing.

FLASHBACK ~

Just as I got out of my car, I walked over to the entrance. Trying to calm my nerves definitely wasn't easy. It was my second last year of high school. Junior year.

"EW. Why does this school look like this? Why is Satan S'more high school so ratchet. I can't believe we have to go to this school for the next two years. Uriah, I am going to kill you for doing this to us. I can't even see Will anymore! He probably hates me seeing as I go to this cardboard box now. Why is my life like this? What did I do in my past life to deserve this?" a female voice whinged. I turned around, with a slight frown settled on my face, but the humour I found in this situation threatened to seep through. I was met with an unfamiliar face, the face of a girl who had a type of beauty that wasn't considered typical, but was beautiful nonetheless. She was tall and slim, and she bore a toned body that was bronzed, not the colour of artificial tan that salons offered, but the type of bronzed tan that reflects the years she had spent in the sun and on the beach. Her dark brown, slightly wavy hair settled just above her collarbones, cascading down her face that possessed a large set of hazel brown eyes. Long, thick eyelashes bordered her eyes, just as a set of full, pink lips bordered her pearly white teeth. She was extraordinarily pretty.

"Oh. Um, hi! I'm Christina" she stammered, unaware of what to say after realising that I heard her insults.

"Hi. Are you new here?" I questioned. _Good going Tris. Of course she's new. Could you be any more awkward?_ I was unsure of how to treat her. I didn't want her to hate our school even more, but at the same time I couldn't stand they way she had openly and brutally insulted it while she stood its grounds.

"Yeah, I got moved here from Pacific Bell."

My smile faltered as I withheld an internal groan. Cow bell school.

"Why are you here?" I wondered, noting that came off as a lot more aggressive than I had intended.

"Well," she stated "this idiot, Uriah, thought it would be wise to pull off a prank at the end of last year, and he was somehow convinced that his small brain would be able to orchestrate the whole thing without getting caught. So of course, Lynn and I decided to _graciously_ help him out. But, long story short. We got caught. So here we are." She opened her arms wide, her face deflating a little bit before she regained her composure and the smile that occupied her face resurfaced. I laughed slightly at this. The way she told her story made her very likable.

"I'm Beatrice by the way, but I prefer Tris. Nice to meet you." I was being sincere. It was nice to meet her.

I glanced over at Uriah, pausing to wonder if everyone at Pacific Bell was this attractive. Uriah was no doubt, handsome to the core. He had a small, black studded piercing in his left ear, and had smooth, flawless caramel coloured skin. Freckles were intricately dotted all over his cheeks, and they darkened his nose bridge, contrasting his olive green eyes that were shining with mischief. He had an athletic build, muscles straining against his shirt and towered over me, nearly a foot taller.

Lynn caught my eye in a different way. Her beauty was dark and captivating. She was fit. Very fit. The abs she had on her stomach in junction with the defined calves she stood proudly on, revealed that she was an athlete who works hard and stays committed. She had short hair that was a deep brown colour and it was buzzed on the left site and the long portion was flipped over and swept down the right side of her head. She had slender, blue-grey eyes that shone brightly against her creamy skin, a well-defined nose and high arched eyebrows. Despite her beauty, what was most remarkable about her was the art covering her body, and the piercings in her ear. Her right ear had studs and hoops and dangly earrings passing through the lobe as well as the cartilage, while her left ear hold nothing but more.

"Tris. You have a nice name. People call me Chris. We can be Chris and Tris, the dynamic duo who have similar names," she laughed. "Do you mind showing us around a bit? We're a bit lost and your school is a lot bigger than our previous one."

"Of course. Follow me."

SKIP TO LATER THAT DAY: GYM CLASS ~

"Today you will picking your sports for next year" Coach George booms. "We will be holding trials. You will all be seniors next year, so I expect everyone to choose a sport that they will be competing in. Sports are our school's greatest pride. Each and every one of you _will_ contribute to the good reputation of our school. The sports that are offered for next year are as follows; football, soccer, basketball, tennis, gymnastics, swimming and baseball. Football trials will be held at-"

"WHAT? Is there no cheerleading team here?" Christina whisper-shrieked in my ear. I shook my head slowly, also wondering why we didn't have one.

"Oh my god. How pitiful." She ascended her way down the bleachers towards Coach George. He stopped speaking, as everyone stared down at the pair intently as they conversed, deep in thought. Finally, he slowly nodded and Christina sat back next to me, beaming victoriously.

"Well, ladies. Thanks to Miss Abrams here, looks like you will also be permitted to try out for a cheerleading team. Christina Abrams will hold trials and I will be the supervising teacher."

After George had read all the names out, people began to shuffle towards the sign-up sheets. I was about to put my names down for gymnastics when Christina had stopped me and practically forced me to join the cheerleading team.

"Please Tris. Pretty please. You don't have to try out. You're in automatically. Please please please? For me? People will join if you do. Please" she begged with hopeful eyes. I decided that it wouldn't hurt to try out something new. I wanted to be brave and step out of my comfort zone.

"Alright then. Here's to SD's first cheerleading team!"

END OF FLASHBACK ~

It's amazing how much my friendship with Christina has blossomed. The arrival of the three from Pacific Bell completely changed the dynamics of our school. We now had a solid cheerleading team, a stronger football team and a happier group of friends. The three added to our previous group of Marlene, Al, Matthew and Peter. People often talk about love at first sight, but for Chris and I, it was hate at first realisation of what school the other went to. And I wouldn't change our first encounter for anything.

**author's note: hey everyone! hope you enjoyed this story. sorry if it isnt filled with drama (yet). i prefer to write stories at a slower pace as it gives readers more to read hehe but don't worry. everyone will be meeting next chapter so there will be heaps of drama there! **

**To help you guys visualise everyone more vividly, picture: **

**Tris – Kristen Stewart with blonde hair**

**Four – Theo James **

**Christina – Jessica Alba (with short hair) **

**Uriah – Robert Ri'chard**

**Zeke – Michael Ealy **

**Lynn - Ruby Rose **

**Marlene – Hayden Panettiere**

**Shauna – Nina Dobrev**


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